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New Hanover County Schools Take Extra Cleaning Precautions

After learning about the confirmed cases of the H1N1 Influenza Virus at two of the New Hanover County Schools, the school district immediately began taking extra precautions to disinfect the schools facilities as well as the buses that transport Gregory and Snipes students. Additionally, NHCS has added three additional custodians at Gregory and Snipes to assist with the cleaning and disinfecting of these schools.

“NHCS is following all the protocols and procedures established by the CDC and the New Hanover County Health Department relative to cleaning and disinfecting the two facilities where the H1N1 virus has been identified. Our primary concern is the safety and well being of our students and staff,” said Assistant Superintendent of Operations Bill Hance.

In accordance with the United States Government website, http://www.pandemicflu.gov , although pandemic influenza viruses may cause severe disease, influenza viruses are among the least resistant microorganisms to chemical disinfection. Therefore, routine cleaning and disinfection strategies used during influenza seasons could be applied for the environmental management of pandemic influenza.

The primary disinfectant cleaner utilized by New Hanover County Schools is Bathmate. This product, as well as all Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered disinfectants, must kill 99.9% of germs, which includes Influenza A, Influenza B and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), in 20 seconds or less.  Bathmate  is on the list of EPA registered disinfectants, which can be found at www.epa.gov/oppad001/chemregindex .

Due to the recent confirmation of the H1N1 Influenza Virus at Gregory and Snipes, the custodial staffs, at both schools, will follow regular cleaning procedures utilizing the EPA registered disinfectant cleaner, Bathmate.  Additionally, they will daily clean and disinfect the following surfaces:

Doors and door handles
Light switches
Phone handsets
Computer mouse
Window handles and window ledges
Student desk and chairs
Cabinet doors and handles
Bookcases
All flat horizontal surfaces

New Hanover County Schools Director of Transportation, Michael Wayne, reported that all buses that transport Gregory and Snipes students were sprayed down with a disinfectant, the solution remained for 10 minutes, and the surfaces were completely wiped clean.

New Hanover County Schools is working closely with the New Hanover County Health Department to ensure procedures established for handling pandemic influenza viruses are followed.

For more information, contact Chris Peterson, Director of Maintenance, at 910-254-4403, or Michael Wayne at 910-254-4080.

 

 

News/Announcements

5/30/09